Not to flame, (not my intent), rather to quote:

"How can you not give 5 stars to a guy coming back four months after being in a coma in which he temporarily loses his muscle memory?"

-

That IS my argument. YES the crowd was amazing, but J. was over-coming a LIFE-shattering event, hence the 80's are so give-and-take.

If you can tell me the energy from THIS show was higher than 3-1-69, complete with a PRUDENCE encore,??? .. I'll eat my hat (or my brownies, depending on the arguement). ;) Don't get me wrong, I am not a "purist" - I think without net (late 80s, 90s material) had it's FINEST moments! This show? YES the crowd was there and the universal energy DEFINITELY hit the band, along WITH Jerry, but musically? Three stars at BEST! If it wasn't a come-back show, it would be one and a half. Therefore, final verdict: two stars. The recording ITSELF is great! (a lot of effort to this on CM but that's another conversation entirely,) HOWEVER straight "playing"? No, this is far from their finest hour. I give a fraction-ed SBD/AUD to 3-1-69 over this show, ANY DAY! Any like I said, I have references for 80s and 90s shows- I pick `em as they come... peace and love and respect, ALWAYS,

=ƒ.

Jeez LS, lighten up. I loved Brent's Fender Rhodes sound, especially since it was such a joy to finally hear real keyboards and organ after straining to hear Keith's piano all those years. The only time Brent's sound kind of bugged me was Spring 83- don't know what it was but he played the whole UVM show with this new gear that fortunately faded away as the tour went on. To not listen to the band because of a type of piano is pure snobbery. Regarding this show I wish the AUD was better- I wish I was enough of a techy to tweak it and lose the tinnyness. Hopefully someone will.

I wonder if there is anyone else out there who feels like I do. This show is very special for the obvious reason. I think this show is special in another way. WHAT'S THAT SOUND ? WHAT? NO MORE TOY PIANO? THANK THE GODDESS! IT IS FINALLY GONE FOR GOOD! I guess some gear changes were being made while Jerry was Illin'. MIDI was finally a viable thang I guess, maybe this is when Peter started being Brents Tech. I don't know- I don't care. All this means is that the toy piano sound is pretty much all gone. I can once again listen to the Dead. And how sad- Jerry was SHREDDING in the early eighties- I just can't listen to the tapes because of the keyboard sound. Well it may be lost in the excitement of Jerry's return, but I think this is where the musical peak starts for the Dead. Getting rid of that Fender Rhodes toy piano sound was the best thing the Dead ever did. They were the bomb now. Learned instruments in the sixties, learned songs in the seventies, got the new guy trained and now FINALLY got him a good sound. This train was on track from this date 'till Brent's death. It's an era, Baby!

I'm just starting this show and I can hear jerry rip in the background on touch of grey but just barely. Does his guitar get any louder? Good playing though

Of course, hearing Jerry sing out 'I will survive' after nearly dying only months earlier will bring chills to any Head's spine (as will an equally transcendant moment during 'Candyman', followed by a *barely audible in the SBD source* audience roar) I want to comment on how clean and tasty the playing is on this show. I generally don't listen to nearly as many late 80's shows as I do just about any other Dead Epoch (besides the last two years), but this show is a true gem in terms of its precise and melodic playing. This recording is somewhat Bobby-heavy, in my opinion not a bad thing, and the intertwining of Weir and Garcia's lines on songs like 'Candyman' are truly worth seeking out. There may not have been a dry eye in the house, but it sure sounds like the fingers were hot tonight.

I cannot begin to comprehend how tasteful His guitar playing is on Loser and Wharf Rat. I guess near death experiences will bring out the best in someone. Everything about Him was giving joy to people thru His music. I miss Him badly and hearing this just widens the hole He left in our hearts.

i love this iko iko. i got it before they pulled these boards fortunatley so i can have it and i always listen to it....its the first dead song i could ever play jerry's part in. simple. its so open, so simple, so fun to play, so fun to listen to, and its so easy to get into the groove.

for the rest of the show, well nto too too much thats all that great. jerry seems pretty weak sometimes, especially singing the last verse first on Black muddy river (still moving though)


the guys werent quite on tonight i guess, but there's plenty of other shows out there.

id give it 3 and a half or 4.

There are two parts of this show in particular that gave me goosebumps- the opening song Touch of Grey for obvious reasons, and "Candyman" where Jerry sings, "tell everybody that the Candyman's in town" (you can hear the crowd roar knowing that Jerry was speaking to the fans in a truly personal way). You may not hear the audience roar as much on the sounboard mix so check out the audience recording just for that effect- although it isn't that great for hearing the music.

Jerry's voice sounds really good considering he came back from literally death. This is why I love this band so much. Moments like these happened all over the country (and world) so many times throughout their history. Like Phil bringing back "Box of Rain" or the band bringing back "Dark Star", and there are others. The connection that the fans had and still have to this band is unlike anything I have experienced. I only wished I could have been born earlier so I could have witnessed more shows. So having these tapes is truly a gift.

I'm giving this a 5 for the vibe alone!

After not having listened to these "Garcia Comeback" shows for years, I am really surprised at how good Jerry sounds. What an amazing talent this guy had for melody. What a joy it woulda been to have seen this show, and the joy emanating from the crowd when they see that he still could REALLY do it.

As well, Jerry had the balls to debut 2 new songs at this show: Push Comes to Shove and Black Muddy. Despite the bungled lyrics to BMR, his guitar work is rock solid, which is what was really lost from him after the coma. What a soul.

The stereo imaging is excellent. Instrument separation is overwhelming or maybe my ears are very forgiving today.The band sounds confident and the playing is slippery and loose. Put on your dancin shoes tonight.Very high energy to boot.It was important Jerry had time to play with his band before hand.Cobwebs? not many this night.4.5 for sound and playing.

How can you not give 5 stars to a guy coming back four months after being in a coma in which he temporarily loses his muscle memory? I wasn't there, but Garcia sounds the most nervous I've ever heard him sound on stage as far as his concern for his playing goes, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It took courage for him to do that, and obviously the fans helped him through it too. You couldn't write a better script if you were a Central Casting director.

HES BACK!!!!!!!!!!

Good sound....first show back afetr Garcia Coma...Right home at Oaktown.Touch opener..surprisingly,Jerry played Very well this show...if you can find an audience version,there is a HUGE crowd response during "Candyman"when Jerry says"wont you tell everybody you meet that the Candymans back in town"..obviously big response for Touch too.Might even be the first Black Muddy River too..not sure

This was the most energized concert environment I have ever witnessed - when they broke out Touch of Gray the place went absolutely crazy - it was truly amazing.

This is an occasion where I'd prefer an audience recording....

This was probably the most emotionally charged crowd I've ever shared a show with, possibly surpassing any of the NYE gigs I attended. Having Jerry back was such a relief and to hear his unmistakable guitar tones gave everybody goosebumps. Yes, their wasn't a dry eye in the house when the band opened with the obvious choice of Touch. Candyman also had the same effect.
Glad I was there. The next night was as good or better.

The band make a great comeback after nearly 6 months off due to Garcia's diabetic coma, after which he pretty much had to relearn how to play guitar. The band are as glad to be back as the fans are to have them back, and they play like it! Definitely a nice show to have.

What is the sound of 15,000 people grinning ear to ear through tears of joy? An obvious choice for an opener, but sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice. :)